The gas flow from Libya towards Italy it was restored to levels of 7-8 million cubic meters per day, after the interruption on 5 and 6 January and the reduction in the following two days. According to the map of snam with the operational data of physical flows on the national network, Libyan gas reaches It freezesin Sicily, from the Libyan Mellitah plant via the Greenstream, the gas pipeline of over 500 kilometers which crosses the Mediterranean Sea, with an hourly frequency of approximately 330,000 cubic meters per hour: double compared to the 150,000 cubic meters of 7 and 8 January, when around 4 million cubic meters per day. The same map indicated “0” in the flows arriving in Gela on 5 and 6 January. Mellitah Oil & Gasan operating company jointly owned by the Italian company Eni and from Libya National Oil Corporation, had denied on January 5 that a fire had broken out in the Mellitah oil and gas treatment plant on the western Libyan coast. In a note released on its official social channels, the company said that production operations were proceeding “according to approved safety standards and procedures”.
In the first days of the new year, a group of protesters from the city of Zuwara, Libya, blocked access to the Mellitah oil and gas processing plant. Protesters were demanding to be hired at the oil complex. The Mellitah site is the main hub for exporting Libyan gas to Italy via Greenstream. According to data processed by Snam, in the period from 1 January to 13 December 2022 Italy imported around 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas through Greenstream. About 60 percent of Libyan domestic gas production is destined for the domestic market, while the rest is exported to Italy. Based on these data, Libya’s overall gas production should fluctuate between 9 and 10 billion cubic meters per year.
Last November 2022, Eni North Africa BV had warned that gas flows from Libya to Italy had been reduced and could be reset due to “unscheduled maintenance” at the Mellitah complex. “Due to unscheduled maintenance at the Mellitah complex, there has been a significant reduction since 22 November, with the possible zeroing of gas flows to Italy. All activities are underway in order to resolve the criticality as soon as possible,” the communication said. According to what was learned by “Agenzia Nova”, in particular, a sulfur extraction unit had broken down and needed maintenance.
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